Love it or Hate it

I love eggplant. My dad does not like eggplant, but my mom loves it. My one brother does not like eggplant either, but my other brother does!
I bought this gorgeous eggplant and was trying to figure out how to use it in a recipe.
I took at my handy dandy Real Simple July 2010 magazine and began browsing. I came across a section "From Farm to Table", which is an article that features farmers who grow the goods and the recipes they came up with. Guess what, there was an eggplant recipe that looked incredible! Matt Romero, who was an executive chef for 20 years and then began to be the supplier of vegetables to professional and home cooks, came up with this awesome eggplant recipe.
Here is his eggplant sandwich recipe. I made a couple of my own changes that you can decide to use or not! I kind of improvised with what was in the kitchen. I also made an incredible caper mayonnaise to go on top.

Matt's eggplant sandwiches, adapted from Real Simple
(with a few Marketing Girl changes)
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten (I added a splash of milk too)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 medium eggplant, (1 to 1 1/2 pounds), cut into eight 1/2-inch thick rounds
1/2 cup canola oil
Kosher Salt
4 leaves of romaine lettuce, torn in half (I used Earthbound Farm Organic Baby Arugula Blend)
2 medium beefsteak or other tomatoes (about 1 pound), sliced
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
4 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled (I used shredded Parmesan cheese)
I added a caper mayonnaise to add some extra flavor (recipe below)

Directions:
1. Place the flour, eggs, and bread crumbs into shallow separate bowls. Dip the eggplant slices in the flour, then in the eggs(letting any excess drip off), and finally in the bread crumbs, pressing gently to help them adhere.

2. Heat half the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook half the eggplant until golden brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining oil and eggplant. Sprinkle the hot eggplant with 1/2 teaspoon salt.

3. Layer the eggplant, lettuce, tomatoes, basil and goat cheese to form 4 sandwiches, with the eggplant on the top and bottom of each stack. Add the caper mayonnaise, if desired.


Caper Mayonnaise
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of mayo
1 teaspoon of mustard
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 small onion, grated
3 tablespoons of capers
squeeze of lemon juice
dash of sugar
salt
pepper

Directions:
In a small bowl mix together the mayo, mustard, olive oil and capers. Mix well. Add in the onion, lemon juice and sugar. Add salt and pepper to your liking. Add more or less of each ingredient based on your preference of flavor. Refrigerate the mayonnaise for up to an hour so the flavors can blend together.

This sandwich was incredible! Each bite I took I made an "oohh", and an, "oh wow, this is really good". I am not kidding! I love that the two pieces of eggplant is the "bread". The eggplant was crispy on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside. The tomato, arugula, and basil flavor was oh so beautiful. The mayonnaise was the perfect addition with the sweet onion and caper flavor.

I have not had a great sandwich like this in a long time! Try out this recipe and you will not be let down! Just a warning, have plenty of napkins on hand because it can get messy.
Happy Almost Friday :)